Wearing black in Ateneo-La Salle tiff is freedom of speech

By: Paolo Manuel C. Fule

The Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University communities were urged by their respective administrations to wear black today for the first ever clash of their Seniors basketball team this season. The event is one of the most hyped games in collegiate basketball what with all the rivalry and the personalities who attend the annual game.

The sports community has been split over the political tone of the event as the wearing of black shirt or accessories signify a protest against extrajudicial killings in the country and against the burial of former President Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. From where I stand, I don’t see anything wrong with this kind of protest.

Sport provides a stage for public attention and awareness so if a sentiment is aired in an event like this, we cannot control other people’s way of showing their own opinion. International sporting events had also become a bully-pulpit for political and social concerns. In the recently concluded NBA finals between Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors in game 6 in Ohio, a man walked at the middle of the court during half time and took off his shirt, with marks written in his body protesting against now Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, some fans flashed rd cards with a message warning against human trafficking. In the recently concluded 2016 Rio Olympics, a fan from the archery competition was forcibly removed from the stands as he shouted “Temer out! It was a reference to their interim President Michel Temer who took power after the ouster of their President Dilma Rousseff thru impeachment.

Yes, I am against the burial of former President Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani and all forms of extra judicial killings in the country but I am in favor of the government’s war against illegal drugs. I am also against the President’s tirades against US and UN. Yes, I did vote for President Digong in the May polls but it doesn’t necessarily follow that I will always favor everything he does or every policy he makes. Give credit where credit is due, but vigilance will always be the light against tyranny and oppression.

email the author at: paolomanuelfule@yahoo.com